


Not(t) in Her Right Mind

by GeminiMoon14



Series: The Woes of a Goblin Girl (or How Does Nott Keep Getting into Trouble?!) [4]
Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fantasy Racism, Feeblemind Spell, Found Family, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Mighty Nein as Family, No Romance, Platonic Relationships, Racism, Team as Family, Why isn't found family a tag yet?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-28
Updated: 2020-05-28
Packaged: 2021-03-03 04:13:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,983
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24418672
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GeminiMoon14/pseuds/GeminiMoon14
Summary: After Nott defends Fjord from some racists who attacked him, they decide to get even with a spell that causes quite a bit of trouble for The Mighty Nein.
Relationships: Fjord & Jester Lavorre & Beauregard Lionett & Nott & Mollymauk Tealeaf & Caleb Widogast & Yasha, Fjord & Nott (Critical Role), The Mighty Nein & Nott
Series: The Woes of a Goblin Girl (or How Does Nott Keep Getting into Trouble?!) [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1767250
Comments: 1
Kudos: 62





	Not(t) in Her Right Mind

Family means keeping one another safe and looking after them when they get in trouble. If there was anything the Mighty Nein was, it was a cobbled together family. There was only one question though. How were they supposed to deal with something like this?!

They were in the middle of a quiet town,  _ literally _ going out of their way to avoid trouble after all the incidents they had encountered, when a group decided to start a fight. Fjord, Nott, and Beau had been looking for supplies at the behest of Fjord, who tried to intervene before they could practice any tricks involving shooting and catching arrows, when they had gotten separated. A gang of locals had started harassing them, but they all ignored and moved past them. They did not give up and began to corner and make comments on Fjord’s appearance. He tried to politely push past and ignore the cruel, and racist, remarks but they held him in place.

When he made a second attempt to get away, one of the men- a large, burly man who stood about the same height a Fjord- shoved him to the ground and planted a boot on his chest. Panic caused his heart to beat even faster as he realized he was alone facing a group of people that outnumbered him. He swallowed nervously as he commented, “There’s no need to get all wound up is there? Why don’t we all-?!” He stopped as the boot on his chest pressed down hard and a sword tip rested at the hollow of his throat.

The man standing over him spat on Fjord’s face as he growled, “Shut up you filthy Half-Blood!” The tip of the man’s sword dug in just enough to break Fjord’s skin without impaling him and cried, “Yer just ugly enough that I’ll be doin’ the world a favor! Hope you’re friendly with your maker ‘cause you're about to meet ‘em!” He withdrew the point, holding his sword aloft for a moment, and swung the blade towards Fjord’s chest.

As the blade flew towards Fjord, a blur of green slammed into the attacker’s chest. He stumbled back a few feet as the flash of green crawled onto his back and started to claw at his face, occasionally biting as well. He yelped in pain as a familiar voice screeched, “Yippee-ki-yay, Motherfucker!” Fjord’s eyes widened in shock at the sight of Nott tearing and sinking her teeth into his flesh as she shrilly screamed, “Leave him the fuck alone you racist pricks!”

The large man struggled to reach her as she crawled over his body, scratching what she could, and used his body as both a shield and a perch to fire her weapon. Bolts sunk into two of the men while the remaining three rushed to help their ringleader. Hands grabbed at the goblin girl, but found no purchase as she slid lithely between clumsy fingers and jabbed at them with her shortsword. As she escaped their poor attempts to grapple her, Nott discretely cut a few coin purses off their belts and called out, “Let’s go, Fjord.”

The half-orc was halfway to his feet when he heard Nott’s shout and summoned his falchion. As they ran, he fired two Eldritch Blasts at the crowd and followed the little goblin who had saved his life.

When they made it far enough from the commotion that it felt safe, Nott revealed the coin purses and began counting the coins she had acquired. Finding about thirty gold and six silver, she pressed half of each amount into Fjord’s trembling hands and told him, “For your help in scratching the Itch.” He stayed there, not really aware of the way he was shaking until small clawed hands folded over his and gently murmured, “It’s okay now, Fjord. They’re not here anymore and they can’t hurt you.” 

He took a deep breath to settle his nerves and took the coin as he gave her a small ‘thanks’. She waved him off but took his hand as she walked them towards the market place the others were waiting at. It seemed that Beau had encountered the rest of their group and had begun to look around for them when they finally appeared.

Beau shot them looks as she commented, “Thanks for showing up after ditching me.” Fjord cleared his throat to explain when Nott informed her, “Some pricks showed up and Fjord and I handled it.” The group turned to Fjord to receive confirmation, he gave them a brief nod and waited for his voice to return. Jester’s eyes lit up as she asked, “Fjooooord! Did you get in a fight?!” He awkwardly rubbed at his neck as he replied, “It wasn't intentional, Jessie, just got caught up in a few folks’ problems.” 

Beau noticed Fjord’s discomfort and called out, “Jester, I think I see the bakery.” If you blinked you would have missed the way the blue tiefling darted away to grab more sugary confections. Fjord mumbled under his breath about how she handled sugar as Beau scuttled up to him and whispered, “You all right?” The half-orc ran a hand through his hair, glancing at the goblin girl dragging Caleb behind her as she ran to catch up with Jester, and answered, “Honestly, Nott saved my ass back there.”

Beau raised a brow in curiosity and, after he was sure the others were out of earshot, Fjord told her, “Those ‘pricks’ were some locals who, uh, don’t seem to like my type of folk wandering around. I tried to push past and ignore ‘em but they pinned me down and nearly slit my throat. Nott jumped in and saved my life, I owe her.” Beau’s face hardened into a scowl as she grabbed Fjord’s shoulder,spun him to face her, and hissed, “If anyone does that shit again you tell me so I can drive their thick skulls like tent stakes! You got it?!” He nodded and she let him go with a soft punch to the shoulder that he had recognized as her way of showing affection.

Later that night, Nott approached Fjord and offered him her flask. He gave her a confused look as she shoved it in his hands and told him, “You look like you need a drink after today.” He gave her flask a look over before he took a few gulps from her bottomless flask. The alcohol burned the back of his throat before a familiar buzz settled in his head. He handed back the flask and murmured, “Thanks for the help today, it um…, yeah.” She snorted at his attempt and said, “Nothing major but, you’re welcome. It gave me a chance to scratch the Itch, so it works out for us both.” 

Fjord turned his gaze towards his tankard and hoarsely whispered, “Yeah.” She slammed her flask onto the table, causing Fjord and a few other patrons to startle, and declared, “Look, I know you’ve got your own issues, the whole group does, but i’m not gonna let someone harass and mock you for the way you look! That’s  _ my _ job! Besides you’d’ve done the same for me.” He chuckled and ruffled her hood as he replied, “Guess you’re right.” She huffed and retorted, “I’m always right.” He laughed a little harder as he placed down a couple gold for the drinks and said, “I don’t know about you but I’m exhausted. Have fun, Nott.” She took the coins and grinned as she called back, “Good night, Fjord!” 

The next day, they started packing up their wagon and grabbing their last minute purchases. While in town, the group of men who had cornered Fjord took a glance at the group he traveled with and sneered. The half-orc froze for a moment when he saw them but relaxed as Nott bared her teeth at them, causing a few of them to jump. The man she had attacked was nowhere to be seen which both relieved and worried Fjord. 

Seeing the concern on his face, Nott climbed onto his shoulders and claimed she wanted a better view than the ground provided. He smiled and continued to the next stall, buying her something shiny she could try to swipe from him.

The morning went well and by midday they were ready to set off. Everything was loaded into the cart and all purchases had gone well. Fjord took the reins and steered the cart towards the exit, Nott in the back and everyone else on horseback. It was going so well, in fact, the universe had decided to spice things up by sending the man Nott had chased off into their path a little ways away from the town.

Nott scowled as she saw him approach and hissed, “What the fuck do you want?!” He glared at the goblin girl before he turned towards Fjord and said, “Hope you don’t think I’m gonna let you off that easy.” He cast a bolt of something at Fjord, a sickly green glow that shot through the air, and there was little time to react. He flinched and brought his arms up in a fruitless attempt to shield himself. 

There was the sound of his friends' screams as something small and fast barreled into him and diffused the spell. He fell back into the cart as he was pushed out of the way. His head smacked the wooden floor of the cart as his friends launched several attacks at the man; the latter shrieking and cursing as he ran away. 

Rubbing at the back of his head, Fjord sat up and the thing that had protected him slid into his lap. When he took a closer look, he saw familiar bandages and green skin, limp on top of him. His eyes grew wide as he exclaimed, “Nott?! Nott! You okay?!” When she did not respond or move, he pulled her into a sitting position and shook her shoulders as he cried out, “Jester! She ain’t moving! Nott! Wake up!” Jester dismounted her horse, rushed into the back of the cart, and pulled Nott into her own arms to heal her.

The group crowded around in order to see if she was alright, worried looks upon their faces. Gradually Nott awoke, the others relaxing as she came to consciousness. Fjord heaved a sigh of relief as he placed a hand on her shoulder and remarked, “Good to see you with us.” Nott’s gaze turned to him, confusion and curiosity in her golden eyes, as she reached up to pat at his face.

Fjord held still as Nott ran her clawed fingers across his cheeks and towards his mouth. He glanced at the others in a plea for help as he asked, “Nott? What are you-?” He cut himself off when she retracted her hands and dropped onto her hands and feet. She glanced at the others and made a small ‘ah’ sound when Jester asked, “Nott, are you okay?” The goblin girl gave her friend a confused look before she scrambled under their pile of belongings and hissed.

Worried, Beau reached towards her and commented, “You, uh, look a little freaked out, Nott. You need a hand?” The moment her hand entered her space, Nott snapped her teeth at the monk’s fingers in warning. Beau flinched back as she exclaimed, “What the hell, Nott?!” Nott hissed as she pushed further into the pile of things tossed into the cart. Jester started to reach for her friend when Molly grabbed her wrist and remarked, “I don’t think she’s in the mood to be touched, darling.”

Caleb watched closely and ordered, “Everyone back away. I think I have an idea.” Complying, Fjord pushed himself away from Nott’s hiding place and gently pulled Jester along as well. The wizard sat himself a foot away from Nott’s hiding spot and cast Dancing Lights. Four globules of light floated down towards where the goblin had vanished and waited. 

In about a minute, a small clawed hand swiped at one of the glowing globules. Surprised, a small face peered at the floating light and tried to grab at it again. When nothing happened, she watched expectantly for the lights to do something. Caleb had them drift towards her, causing her pupils to dilate as she poked at them. She grinned in delight as the orbs of light slowly circled around her and occasionally tried to grab them. Caleb sighed, Nott’s ears pricking up at the sound, and murmured, “There you go.”

Nott turned towards the wizard, curiosity in her eyes, and slowly crept towards him. He held still as she slowly sniffed at him. Her face lit up in joy as she crawled into his lap and cooed. He placed a bandaged hand on her head and smiled when she leaned into the contact. Caleb looked at the others, shock and relief on their faces, and told them, “She recognizes me at least. Let’s move before something else happens.”

They took off, Caleb holding Nott and keeping her calm while they moved. The task proved more difficult than expected. The motion disturbed the little goblin and she kept trying to climb over the edge of the cart to see where she was. More than once, one of the Mighty Nein had to pull her into the back of the cart. Thankfully, once she got a good sniff of the others she allowed them to enter her space.

Eventually they settled down several miles from civilization and allowed Nott to explore. She scampered about on all fours, crawling over the rocks and rolling in the grass. Despite the severity of the situation, the Mighty Nein couldn’t help laughing as their friend rolled around in the grass before chasing after a butterfly. 

Jester ran after her calling out, “Nott! Are you having fun?! Wait. No, Nott! Don’t eat that!” Beau groaned as she noticed the goblin girl attempting to snap up the butterfly she had been chasing and told them, “I’ll go help.” While the two attempted to keep their friend from eating any more wildlife, the others set up camp.

Fjord glanced over at the two entertaining Nott by tossing a few shiny coppers back and forth to get her to jump at them and felt his heart clench. His stomach knotted up and he bit his lip hard enough it was shocking it had not bled yet. Noticing his distress Molly walked up, threw an arm over his shoulder, and guided him away from camp. The tiefling guided him out of earshot of the others and asked, “You doing okay? This must be a lot to take in.” Fjord’s eyes flickered towards Nott and muttered, “Y-Yeah, ‘s been a long day.” 

Red eyes narrowed in suspicion as Molly insisted, “You need someone to listen to you. Well, you’re not going to get any better than this.” The half-orc sighed as he murmured, “It’s my fault, Nott got hit ‘cause of me. If I-” A light slap on his cheek interrupted what he was trying to say and Molly informed him, “First of all, that man was the one who fired that spell not you. Second of all, Nott jumped in front of the blast for  _ you _ , you didn’t use her as a shield or force her to do it. That lovely bit of information leads me to the conclusion that you have nothing to be sorry for.” 

Fjord rubbed his cheek in surprise before averting his gaze and mumbling, “I do. She saved my ass from that piece of shit in the markets and now she’s like this.” Molly’s eyes grew in shock as he hissed, “What did he do?!” 

Taken aback Fjord told him, “Called me names and was liable to slit my throat but that’s not the issue here-” The tiefling grabbed his shoulders, pulled him down so that they were eye level with one another, and growled, “You listen to me, my friend, whatever that man said and did is not your fault. He was the one who chose to be a self-righteous, bigoted, scum-sucker. Nott saw you in trouble and gave him a good beating, if those scratch marks on his ugly face were anything to go by, for what he did to you.” Fjord’s face flushed as Molly released his hold and said, “She’s the one in trouble now and she needs us, let’s not disappoint her.”

Fjord took a deep breath, heart a little lighter, and returned to their campfire. Caleb had already prepared his dome for everyone and Yasha had volunteered for first watch. Fjord offered to join her but she told him that she already had company. Confused, he looked down and saw Nott curled up in her lap with her eyes wide open. Chuckling, he told her to wake him up for the second watch and entered the hut.

Eventually, Yasha shook him awake for the second watch and passed him a sleeping Nott. He gave her a look and she let him know, “She seems to sleep better with people and I worry I may crush her.” He tucked her against his breast plate and sat just inside the bubble, carefully watching for suspicious activity.

It seemed that nothing would happen and the night would pass without issue, at least until he heard something moving around in the forest. Gently, trying to avoid waking Nott, he placed the goblin on the ground and summoned his falchion. Despite Fjord’s best efforts, Nott opened a yellow-gold eye and watched him walk towards the edge of their camp. She whimpered in concern and trailed slightly behind him, as quiet as she had ever been.

Fjord stalked towards the treeline and held his blade at the ready, cautiously pushing a couple of bushes aside. He peered into the darkness and saw something shifting around, though what it was he could not see. He turned his head to call the others when the creature in the bushes pounced, knocking him prone on the ground. 

A few other forms darted out of the forest as the large creature tried to snap at his throat. He pushed its jaws away and tried to move out from under the beast holding him in place. He groaned as the creature clamped its fangs into his shoulder, piercing his flesh through his armor. He let out a shout of pain and swung his sword at the creature’s neck. He missed once but managed to clip its shoulder. It let go of his shoulder and prepared to bite again. Before it could, they heard a loud, feral screech and something small and green sunk its teeth into the large wolf-like creature. 

The beast retreated and yelped in pain as Nott landed on top of Fjord’s chest, a chunk of fur and flesh in her mouth, and hissed. The dire wolf growled at them and Nott’s eyes narrowed as she screamed, loud and piercing. The wolf backed away a few steps and Nott pounced, tearing and snarling as she scratched, bit, and hit the wolf attacking her friend.

From behind Fjord, the other’s had woken up and were in the middle of battle. Relieved the others had seen the situation, Fjord got to his feet and used his blade to slash at the wolf. It snarled as it tossed Nott from its back and launched itself at him again. He used his shield to push it off and check on Nott. She was covered in fur and blood, none of it her own as she charged up to the abnormally large wolf and once more clamped her teeth onto its throat.

She tore into it, pulling a large chunk of fur and muscle with her teeth and sinking her claws into the open wound. It howled in pain and retreated, carrying a furious goblin girl with it. Fjord gave chase as he called out, “Nott! Get back here!”

The wolf flailed about, desperate to get the creature on it off. Nott held tight and pulled more at the wound, opening it even further and tearing at it with her claws. It let out one last howl as it collapsed on the forest floor, before a sickening gurgling noise came from it and it laid still. Nott wriggled out from underneath its body and hissed at it before Fjord caught up. He looked down at the goblin girl hissing at, what was now clearly a dire wolf, and whispered, “Nott?!” At the sound of his voice, she scampered over to him, a smile on her face. He picked her up and patted her head as he incredulously took in the scene. 

He carried her back to camp, trying to avoid straining the shoulder that had been bitten. By the time he arrived, the others were kicking carcasses away and Caleb was setting the hut up again. The others noticed his presence and Jester called out, “Fjord! Are you two okay?!” He walked up to the group, wincing at the frightened looks they gave Nott, and assured them, “Not her blood, mostly the wolf’s.” Beau nodded, clearly impressed, as Fjord handed the goblin to Molly.

As he passed her along to Molly, Fjord winced at the pain in his shoulder. Molly saw this and immediately ordered, “You better get Jester to look at that.” The half-orc nodded, a little lightheaded from the way his wound was bleeding, and mumbled, “I’ll do that.”

As he stumbled towards Jester, Nott started squirming in Molly’s arms and made a keening noise. He held her a little tighter as he asked, “What’s wrong, dear? Aren’t I enough?” She ignored his words and sunk her claws into his arms, not enough to do damage but to startle. He dropped her in surprise and the goblin chased after Fjord, climbing his form and wrapping her arms around his neck.

Fjord quickly wrapped his good arm around her small form and exclaimed, “What the hell! Nott?!” She shoved her face against his neck and started crooning. Confused, and honestly a little unnerved, Fjord turned to the others and asked, “What’s she doing?” From Caleb’s bubble, the wizard answered, “It appears that she’s trying to comfort you.” Jester made a face and squealed, “Fjooooord! That means she likes you!” Molly covered his mouth as he smirked and remarked, “Like a mother and her child.” Fjord’s stomach went cold and his face heated up, caught between feeling embarrassed and sad. 

Jester stuck her nose in the air as she said, “There’s nothing wrong with being mothered, I mean I like it when my mom hums to me.” She walked up to Fjord, hand reaching out to cast Cure Wounds, when Nott snapped at her fingers. Jester huffed as she told the goblin, “Nott! I’m trying to help.” Molly, smirk still on his face, patted her shoulder and commented, “Looks like she’s still feeling a little protective.” Beau smiled as she contributed, “She did just fight a giant wolf for you.” 

Their cleric paused for a moment before her face lit up and she said, “I have an idea! Fjord you sit here with Nott.” He walked inside the bubble where she was pointing, awkwardly cradling an angry goblin. Once he was seated, Jester hummed a few notes and pulled out a shiny silver coin. Nott’s ears pricked up and she turned towards the noise, readying to launch herself at the slightest hint of danger. She relaxed as she saw the coin and Jester continued humming softly. Slowly, she extended the hand with the coin and smiled. 

Gradually, Nott released her hold around Fjord’s neck and crept up to the tiefling with the silver. Jester placed it on the ground between them and offered her hand to Nott. The goblin watched it suspiciously before giving it a sniff, and a little lick. Jester laughed as Nott snatched the coin and let her touch Fjord. As she cast Cure Wounds, Caleb smiled and commented, “Good job. She let you touch him.” 

Once the magical light faded, Nott inspected the area healed and climbed into Caleb’s lap. He combed his fingers through her hair and pulled out a book to read before he went to sleep. Molly offered to take the last watch and ruffled Nott’s hair. She growled and swiped at him but it seemed to be more out of annoyance than an actual intent to do harm. He chuckled and sat just inside the dome. 

The next morning, Nott had to be chased away from the fire because she kept trying to snatch food out of the hot pan. Eventually, Beau had enough and grappled her, which eventually turned into a playful wrestling match when her tiny goblin form slid out of the monk’s lithe, muscled arms. Jester saw them playing and joined in, pinning Beau to the ground. Nott smiled and placed herself on top of Jester and let out a triumphant shriek. Jester went limp, playing along, and watched as Yasha came up from behind and lifted the goblin into the air. Nott shrieked in surprise as Yasha simply tucked her under an arm and told them, “We’re packed up and ready to go.”

Caleb rode on horseback as Jester and Beau sat in the back of the cart with Nott. About halfway through their journey to the next town, Beau pulled out one of her throwing stars and noticed Nott chasing the light that it reflected. She kept herself entertained this way until they decided to take a break and stretch their legs. 

Nott barrelled out of the cart and began to roll around in the dirt. Molly smiled as he approached and asked, “Having fun there, Deary?” She looked at him with another confused look and cocked her head to the side. She watched him carefully, her eyes narrowing as she crouched low to the ground. 

They watched her in bewilderment as she stared at Molly; then she pounced. Molly let out an undignified yelp as she leaped up at him and crawled onto his shoulders. Beau laughed as the goblin girl took up her perch and began to examine the jewelry on his horns and around his neck. She did not seem to be trying to steal them but she did bat at the dangling pieces and watch them shine in the light.

The others laughed as the purple tiefling froze and asked, “What’s she doing?!” Beau gave his shoulder a light punch as she told him, “She’s just playing with your jewelry, annoying one.” He relaxed and let her sit up there for a couple of minutes before relocating her onto Caleb’s shoulders. She smiled as she hugged his head and nuzzled against his hair.

He simply let her as he informed the group, “I believe I know the spell that hit her.” He paused and waited for the group to give him their attention before he continued, “It’s something called Feeblemind and it’s extremely dangerous. It lowers your intelligence and you can’t communicate with anyone, nor can they communicate with you.” 

Expressions turned severe as Jester asked, watching Nott start to wander after a grasshopper, “Do we know how to fix it?” Caleb pulled Nott back to him, hugging her close to his chest, and replied, “A simple Greater Restoration should do the trick. If we get you the diamond dust required, can you break the affliction?” Jester looked at the goblin girl, noticing her trying to soothe Caleb when she sensed his distress, and answered, “Yeah I can totally fix this.” Now reassured that there was a way to help, the group decided to put their funds together to get what was necessary and made their way to the next town. 

Once they made it, they quickly got themselves a handful of rooms and stowed Nott in one of them with Yasha to keep her calm. The barbarian handed over some of her coin to help and sat guarding the door as she let Nott roam about the room. The goblin darted beneath the bed and made a happy noise. She tucked herself in the corner furthest from the edge of the bed while Yasha waited for the others to return. 

Once they made it back, diamond dust in hand, it simply became a matter of coaxing the goblin out from beneath the bed. Jester got on her stomach and reached for Nott, the latter pushing back into the corner, as the tiefling exclaimed, “Come on! Noooott! Stop hiding and let me fix what those ass-faced donkey dicks did to you!” Nott grinned before she scuttled out and darted between everyone’s legs. The Mighty Nein all struggled and reached for the goblin girl who was easily evading their attempts to grab her.

Fjord, remembering what he had done earlier, pulled out a shiny pendant he had purchased for her to swipe and called out, “Nott! Look what I got for you!” She spotted the shiny bauble and ran up to him. He held it above his head, making sure to hold it in the light so it would glimmer and sparkle, and waited for her to get close enough. As soon as she was within range, he snatched her up and shouted, “Now Jester!” Jester quickly placed her hands on the wriggling form and cast Greater Restoration.

Nott went still as the spell took hold and slowly, the haze of confusion left her eyes and she mumbled, “Wha-? What happened? Where are we?” Jester smiled as she pulled Nott out of Fjord’s arms and into a hug as she exclaimed, “Nott! We missed you sooo much!” Nott stilled in shock as Caleb took her from Jester and muttered, “Don’t ever do that again, Liebling.” Nott turned towards Fjord and asked, “What the fuck is going on?!” He chuckled and patted her head as he answered, “I’ll tell you while we get ourselves a celebratory drink.”


End file.
